Raft-up boaters overreach their record

Lake Norman was a sea of boats lining up to create a snake formation Saturday.
The attempt to beat the 944 boats from last year was perfected with a total head count of 1,453.
The official count for the Guinness World Records is still being tallied and should be completed in the next few days.
Records Researcher & Event Adjudicator Susan Morrison of the Guinness World Records in London, England came to view the raft-up to get a first hand perspective.
It was her first time in North Carolina and she was amazed at the event.
She heard about the event because of itâ€™s Guinness World Record for a fresh water raft-up of 944 boats last year.
â€œI thought it would be a shame to miss it this year,â€ Morrison said. â€œItâ€™s incredible, to be honest it is the organization that makes the difference.â€
Morrison covers several different events a year and receives roughly 10,000 requests from people who want to be in the Guinness World Records.
â€œWe canâ€™t cover everything,â€ she said. â€œBut obviously the raft-up is something that qualifies because of the amount of people that it gets together.â€
Craig Willis of Westport has been to the raft-up for several years.
Willis had his wife and another couple on his boat for the day.
Richard Jones of Denver was enjoying the raft-up with Willis.
â€œI like the fact that people take the time to enjoy the lake and try to break the record,â€ he said.
Lee Hallman of Mooresville was also out on the lake Saturday rafting up.
â€œMy favorite part of the raft-up is socializing,â€ he said. â€œThey do a really good job, it is well organized.â€
Hallmanâ€™s wife, Amy said the raft-up is always a lot of fun.
â€œIt is nice to see different people,â€ she said. â€œSo far everyoneâ€™s remaining calm and it is not out of hand, which is good.â€
The event pulled in roughly 6,000 to 8,000 people.
Sundayâ€™s event at Queenâ€™s Landing, â€œFamily Fun Day,â€ set two records, one by hydrofoil pro, Billy Rossini who set the first official Guinness World record for a hydrofoil jump. He set his goal at 22 feet and beat it at 23.1 feet.
Moon â€œCatawba Catfishâ€ Huffstetler also set a Lake Norman record for water treading for seven hours.
All proceeds for the events will go to the Lake Norman Marine Commission. The official number on this has not been determined yet.
Over $26,000 has been donated to the Marine Commission over the past four years.
by Amy Wadsworth